What To Do When Web Traffic Is Down

In the most uncertain of times, any advice that is too prescriptive would at this point be premature. With that said, since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, many sources indicate an average decrease in total web traffic and as such, now seems an appropriate time to look at key things Lead Generators can do to get the most out of their process whenever they face this challenge.

Before beginning, it is important to note the following: although there has been a general downturn in web traffic, this is a mean average and it is worth noting many industries / verticals have seen a spike in traffic. Secondly, there is no way of knowing how long such a downturn may last and you should always be refining and retesting your process.

Test Creatives and Landing Pages

This shouldn’t really be resultant of low web traffic, but testing your creatives and landing pages is now more important than ever. Messaging that speaks directly to your prospects and seems fresh and relevant will likely outperform the same ads you were running before the drop.

The key here is to not worry about the “lost” traffic, but to make the most out of the traffic that remains. You must be adaptive, flexible and quickly turn around fresh ideas. More than anything, you must test ideas to try and quickly hone in on the messaging and landing pages that convert in the time.

Up Your Offer

One of the first things people do when they face a challenge to web traffic / conversion rates is react by upping their offer. The theory here is sound, of course, but there is a way to do it (and a way not to do it).

Avoid making a bold offer with no apparent reason behind it. Instead, link any new offer to a cause. For example, be transparent and say “In these times we want to offer something more.” Or place the offer within a limited time frame to create more urgency. This strategy will likely see better results than upping the offer with no context.

Secondly, right now, offering a “Bundle Offer” is a great way to increase conversion rates. By tapping into the general psychology of the world at the moment, there is great value to be added when offering discounted Bundle Offers and this is something well worth testing (providing of course it is done on ethical grounds).

Pivot Your Angle

This idea is easier for marketers distributing leads on than for brands, but the idea is simple. Web traffic as a mean average may be down, but in many cases - as is clearly evident during COVID-19 - there are outliers to this trend. If you are able to, pivoting your strategy and generating leads in these thriving areas is an obvious response; the success of this is determined by your flexibility. How quickly are you able to generate new landing pages? How quickly can you set up and run new campaigns? The more simple your process to begin with - such as for those using an all in one setup without the need to integrate - the more quickly and simply you can pivot to explore new opportunities.

Rethink Your Metrics

When generating leads to distribute onwards, the volume of leads often feels like the most important metric. However, now more than ever, the quality of leads generated will start to become what most lead buyers will start to really care about. As such, your focus should be less about quantity and more about quality.

Being able to generate and deliver high quality leads will place a premium on your value as a lead generator. For more about this, read article Lead Generation After COVID-19.

Accurate Reporting Is Vital

In times like these, marginal gains are vitally important. Performance Marketers simply cannot afford any wastage and as such, accurate reporting is incredibly important. The insights to be gained by identifying your best performing pages or your prospects’ drop-off points (for example) can be the key between making a profit or a loss.

In particular, those lead generators relying upon multiple software systems and who face platform disparities may find this especially hard. A switch to a one system approach - in addition to saving you a lot of time and money - will also streamline your process and give you a more accurate overall picture of your campaigns, allowing you to make informed changes in real time and react quickly and smartly.

Focus your time on traffic (and automate everything else)

If you are struggling with lower web traffic, it is only logical to focus your time on traffic and automate everything else you possibly can. This advice should be taken at the best of times, but when web traffic is low and you wish to improve results, automating any unnecessary jobs and using that newly freed time to focus on traffic is a really simple way to restructure, reprioritise and focus on on the best way to boost results.

For a very quick guide as to all the things you can and should be automating, you can get download The Lead Generator’s Automation Checklist for free here:

Perfect the rest of your pipeline

When web traffic is low, it is intuitive to look at ways to refine and improve the start of your pipeline. This means improving the process of your lead generation in the early stages and, as discussed, working on your creatives and landing pages to help generate the best leads possible.

To take this one step further, you must also continue to perfect your pipeline at every stage. This means ensuring your lead management and distribution is bang on. It also means your first contact and nurturing are also up to scratch. Essentially, to counteract the effects of lower web traffic you should aim to make improvements at every step of the journey.

Want to learn more?

If you find you are struggling with your lead generation or performance marketing during this time and would like to speak to one of our experts about small changes you can make to improve your performance, lower your costs and boost your ROI, then book in a time to see how Databowl can massively benefit you.